At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) today, Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke dropped something of a bombshell by revealing that the developer doesn't plan to release any expansions or downloadable content for Baldur's Gate 3, nor Baldur's Gate 4.
Instead, Finke said at the panel, Larian plans to move away from Dungeons & Dragons entirely and do something new, leaving the intellectual property in the hands of publisher Wizards of the Coast.
It's a big surprise, given the massive success of Baldur's Gate 3, that many fans assumed that DLC or expansion would be on the way. Larian has released several major free patches that have added, among other things, a playable epilogue set.
Larian has also commented on the possibility of making DLC in the past. Speaking to IGN at gamescom 2023, Tom Butler, senior product manager at Larian Studios, said they had “discussions” about doing more for Baldur's Gate 3, even though they were focused on patches at the time.
“We're going to keep tinkering for a while, then we'll all take time off and then we'll figure out what we're going to do next,” Butler said at the time. “But right now, we have real discussions. We want to do more. We don't know what's next.”
However, beyond that, Larian has never officially said that there's more Baldur's Gate 3 on the way. As mentioned earlier, a lot of new content has been added to the hit RPG since its launch in August last year, and there's a lot in the already massive game that the physical release comes in four discs. The developers are currently working on a “robust, cross-platform” mod support plan to accommodate additions from the community as well.
The first and second Baldur's Gate games were developed by BioWare. Prior to Baldur's Gate 3, Larian was best known for developing the Divinity series.
Looks like it's Larian's next project could It will be another entry into divinity. In an interview with IGN shortly before the release of Baldur's Gate 3, Vincke said that a sequel to Divinity: Original Sin was “definitely” on the horizon, but that the team needed to work through Baldur's Gate 3 first.
It's not clear whether Hasbro, which owns Wizards of the Coast, will look to another developer for a potential Baldur's Gate 4, but there's no doubt that the property has been a huge success for them. It was revealed last month that Hasbro made a whopping $90 million in profits from Baldur's Gate 3. In addition to the financial success, Baldur's Gate 3 has been a hit among fans and critics as well, winning top prize at last year's Toy Awards and receiving 10 /10 from several outlets, including IGN.
Elsewhere in the panel, Vincke also showed early versions of various characters, including a very different Astarion.
Alex Stedman is a senior news editor at IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
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